The Wall is a haunting, fascinating, personality-driven graphic novel about life behind the Iron Curtain. Peter Sis recounts his childhood and teen yeThe Wall is a haunting, fascinating, personality-driven graphic novel about life behind the Iron Curtain. Peter Sis recounts his childhood and teen years in a Soviet-run country, exploring the impact of censorship and fear on his development as an artist. How do you explore, create, rebel when your very defiance can land you in a Siberian prison? What happens when your personal freedoms are stolen by the government? Sis' artwork is a sensory explosion of multimedia history and experience -- so forget about your history book. There's nothing boring about this graphic novel.

Read this if you want to read some really cool history that's way more interesting than your class text!

Lillian is the daughter of an Egyptologist in 1880s London. Imhotep IV is a mummified pharoah owned by Lillian's father. Lillian's father is away on bLillian is the daughter of an Egyptologist in 1880s London. Imhotep IV is a mummified pharoah owned by Lillian's father. Lillian's father is away on business... Will true love conquer all in this madcap adventure through the jails of London and a brief kidnapping of the Queen?

This is a totally goofy, lighthearted book. What a wierd premise: a Victorian lady and a mummy fall in love. Then the another mummy kidnaps the Queen. :) Yeah, it doesn't make any sense, but I really enjoyed it! Lovely illustrations, dry humor, and a bizzare premise conspire again to make a great graphic novel.

"Day by day, meal by meal, millions of girls and women in the United States struggle with eating disorders. I am one of them."

Nadia grew up in a famil"Day by day, meal by meal, millions of girls and women in the United States struggle with eating disorders. I am one of them."

Nadia grew up in a family where food was a commodity and self-control was the pinnacle of success. Nothing less that perfection would be accepted.

That's when Nadia met "Ed," her Eating Disorder. Ed helped her control life: he obsessively monitored her weight, created demanding exercise regimens, and taught her the exquisite joy of binging and purging to rid herself of the contamination of food... so why did she feel so out of control?

This is slender book is a story of hurt, loneliness, overwhelming odds, and ultimate recovery. Read this is if you need to be reminded that you can survive... and thrive.

Jimmy Corrigan is a lonely guy -- a jittery, unattractive middle-aged man trapped in a dead-end job. The days bleed into each other, his only escape bJimmy Corrigan is a lonely guy -- a jittery, unattractive middle-aged man trapped in a dead-end job. The days bleed into each other, his only escape being a fantasy realm where he dons tights and becomes "the smartest kid on Earth." A grim history of parental abandonment, stretching all the way back to the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and down the Corrigan family tree, has culminated in Jimmy's insignificant existence. Jimmy's life finally takes a turn when he receives a letter from his estranged father, inviting him to a reconciliation. The story of Jimmy's reunion with his father and meeting with the sister he never knew is simultaneously funny and crushing. Along the way, the book also tells the backstories of the other Corrigan men, proving that Jimmy's parental troubles are far from unique.Chris Ware's art throughout the graphic novel is both simple and astoundingly detailed, with particular attention to structures and architecture. Even the dust jacket on the hardcover vesion is a detailed work of art! This is one that encourages you to go back and reread pages or gaze at the art to pick up nuances that you missed the first time through.Lest one rest under the misconception that the book is a pure downer, Ware's ultimate message appears to be that there is a place to fit for everyone in the world, and that loneliness and alienation can only persist for so long. If you're looking for more realistic graphic novels, it's hard to do much better than this!

In 2001, French cartoonist Guy Delisle travelled to North Korea, a country that few in the Western world ever have a chance to visit, to produce a carIn 2001, French cartoonist Guy Delisle travelled to North Korea, a country that few in the Western world ever have a chance to visit, to produce a cartoon series in conjunction with a Korean animation studio.

From an outsider's standpoint, North Korea is quite possibly the strangest country on Earth - the closest real-life societal parallel to that of Orwell's 1984. Sequestered from the rest of the world on an exile largely self-imposed, it is a land where you can get ahead by turning in your neighbor for a minor infraction, where a mindless existence on the part of the masses masks and enables the decadent lifestyles of a handful of officials behind the scenes. Buildings are left half-completed and empty, vans blast state propaganda from loudspeakers, the city is pitch-black at night, and Kim Jong Il's face adorns every surface.

Despite its subject matter, Pyongyang is largely humorous. I even found myself laughing out loud at certain points! Delisle possesses a keen observational power and a sense of irony that allow him to subtly ridicule the absurdity of the regime throughout his stay, all the while seemingly trying to show the human side of the average North Koreans he was in close contact with. One gets the feeling that the task of getting to know them was difficult - the North Korean characters come across as very reserved and, in some cases, as though they've been lobotomized. Along with his complete outsider's perspective, Delisle also injects a bit of Western bias, but this is a personal story.

Artistically, the drawings are in simple, shaded black and white, conveying a sense of the monotony of life in the country. Characters are sketched small and from a distance to add to the feeling of being dwarfed by the monolithic, cold regime.

Pyongyang is a fascinating graphic travelogue that offers a peek into a totalitarian country whose inner workings are usually shrouded in mystery.

-that the French and Indian War was, contrary to popular belief, not fought between the French and Indians?

-that in 1855, Nicaragua wasDid you know...

-that the French and Indian War was, contrary to popular belief, not fought between the French and Indians?

-that in 1855, Nicaragua was conquered...by an American?

-what, exactly, Roosevelt meant when he famously stated, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself?"

All this, and more, is in The Cartoon History of the United States. This is American history the way they don't teach you in classes - graphic novel format! While it may be a bit superficial, you've got to give it some credit - the guide rips its way through the "discovery" of America to the early 1990s, all the while dropping uncomfortable facts that your high school history teacher is probably hesitant to discuss. It's an enormously entertaining and informative comic that will hopefully launch further reading. Nearly two decades later, we need an updated version!

It took me until adulthood to realize it, but EVERYONE in middle school was as unsure of themselves, awkward and uncool as I was during that time - soIt took me until adulthood to realize it, but EVERYONE in middle school was as unsure of themselves, awkward and uncool as I was during that time - some were just better at putting on a pose. The "cool kids" also struggled with changing bodies, changing minds and a desperate need to feel accepted. "Stuck in the Middle" is for people like me who can look back on that rough two years and laugh at the experience, recognizing it as a painful but necessary rite of passage. 17 comic artists submit real or semi-real stories about the trials and tribulations of those years - gossip, clothes, "dating," bullying, parents and the Disco Prairie Rebellion of '81. Any middle school survivor should find something to relate to in here. The wide variety of art and storytelling styles help give each a unique voice.

For those who are still there, I can only promise that it gets better!